Quote:
Originally Posted by Ben Franklin
I have several friends living in Canada, France and The UK. I have spoken to each one of them about their system, and they love it. Their systems are more of a social democracy, and as I understand it, they are still market based. Yes, they pay higher taxes, but I wonder if anyone did a cost comparison between the amount of taxes paid vs. the cost of insurance. Just yesterday I had to pay $100 for a generic drug, because of the donut hole system. And it seems most dentists don't take insurance, or they don't take UHC insurance, and so we just had to pay over $700 for an initial visit.
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Canada’s program began in the sixties. I don’t know if you can compare it to 2019. It has universal healthcare but I wouldn’t call it a socialist country. Taxes are higher... in a country with few people... if you have low-income and under 65, it is a good basic system. Otherwise additional insurance is required. The GST, goods and services tax, lowered prices to a point but it affects low income workers the most. Gas had always been high, like Europe, but less, even though there are so many resources in Alberta. Meds are much cheaper, even half what we pay. Many doctors left as they put a cap on earnings. Many RNs lost their jobs to less qualified help due I think to try and keep some doctors wages, and other expenses. Still, most like it. It’s not perfect. Unlike here 80% of the doctors are primary care GPs. Here, I believe most have specialized (for bigger bucks?) and 80% are specialists who only look at one part of the body. I won’t comment on pharmaceutical companies here, IMHO, a basic healthcare plus the option of purchasing insurance for other than basic needs seems good. Socialized anything is a risk iMHO and needs to be watched carefully. Look at socialization around the world, it’s a sad story and the reason Canada decentralized government in many areas. Yet, now with Trudeau back in, there is fear in many Canadians. Big government means less freedom and it is clearly seen in Canada’s healthcare and in other countries.